The effects of the solution heat treatment temperature on the precipitates, grain boundary evolution and response of the microhardness of Inconel 718 (IN718) superalloy fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM) were investigated. It was found that: (1) The long-chained Laves phases formed in the as-deposited condition dissolved into the matrix when the solution temperature rises above 980 °C. (2) The width-to-length ratio was maintained at approximately 1.6 when the solution was heated from 980 °C to 1080 °C, and dropped down to 1.03 when heated to 1130 °C. (3) Low-angle grain boundaries kept the same number fraction of 65% from 980 to 1080 °C as the as-deposited condition, and decreased dramatically from 1090 to 1130 °C to 4%. (4) Annealing twin boundaries occurred at 1090 °C with a number fraction of 3%, and quickly increased to 65% when heated to 1130 °C. It is concluded that the static recrystallization of IN718 fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM) occurred at 1090 °C and fast proceeded to full recrystallization at 1130 °C. The forming of annealing twins accompanies the recrystallization process and is an effective way to refine the recrystallized grain size.

The microstructure and precipitates of INCONEL 718 alloy (IN718) fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM) are investigated. The matrix is comprised of the elongated γ grains along Z direction, tilting a few degrees. The microstructure mainly consists of a cellular–columnar structure with fine first dendrite arm space of 1–1.5 µm originated from the rapid solidification rate locally. The precipitates of the SLMed IN718 are confirmed to be a significant amount of Laves in the form of irregular bulk distribution, small amount of carbonitride and spherical Al₂O₃ particles in nanoscale. Some of the carbonitrides grow separately and some of the carbonitrides enwrap the Al₂O₃ fully or partly, forming the shell structure of the Al₂O₃–carbonitride. The reheating effect from the following layers to the previous layers have not reached the solid-state transformation temperature of the γ′ and γ″.

The influences of process annealing temperature during cold rolling on microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti-3.5Al-5Mo-6V-3Cr-2Sn-0.5Fe near β high strength titanium alloy sheets have been investigated. Results showed that the alloy mainly included the deformation induced dislocation structures after cold rolling but no obvious band structure, twin crystal or martensite were observed in this work. The texture components, which were affected by process annealing, are mainly γ-fiber, α-fiber and weak Goss texture. The γ-fiber of alloy when process annealed at 780 °C (α/β phase field) is stronger than at 830 °C (β phase field), where the Goss texture of alloy with process annealing temperature of 830 °C is more obvious. Results of annealing heat treatments showed that the recrystallization of the cold rolled was basically completed in a relatively short time of 2 min at 750 °C for 2 min. The refinement of grain size led to a significant increase of plasticity compared to rolled alloy. Results of tensile testing of aged alloy display the excellent combination of strength and plasticity, and the cold rolled alloy with process annealed at α/β phase field exhibits the better mechanical properties than at β phase field.

This study presents a strategy for the preparation of multiscale α phase by high/low-temperature two-step aging in metastable β titanium alloy, Ti-15Mo-3Al-2.7Nb-0.2Si. The purpose of high-temperature aging is to obtain a number of micro-scale secondary α phases (α_S), besides precipitation-free zones (PFZs). After that, in the second stage of low-temperature aging, the nano-scale tertiary α phase (α_T) precipitates in the PFZs. The second-step aging temperature and the time at low temperature will have an important effect on α_T. On the one hand, with the extension of aging time, the morphology of α_T changes from dot-like to needle-like. Secondly, the increase of the second-step aging temperature will promote precipitation of α_T in PFZs. The strength increases gradually with the accelerated precipitation of α_T, and good plasticity is still maintained. The effect of multiscale α on fracture behavior was investigated by in situ tensile testing. Results show that cracks form a transgranular fracture along the slip line after solution treatment. After first-step aging, the crack easily passes through α_S and forms an intergranular fracture. After second-step aging, the formation of multiscale α phase has a stronger effect in hindering the crack growth, which leads to crack propagation mainly by transgranular fracture. Overall, this study demonstrates that the alloy can be heat-treated to achieve an excellent match between strength and ductility, which is expected to meet the application requirements of structural materials of the new generation of aircraft.